Likoma

That's a good point. For a fish to act naturally they need a level of habitat enrichment. Providing a safe environment goes a long way to achieve this. I would suggest a dark substrate and surface vegetation. Light substrates stress fish out as they realize they are an easy target from above. An example of this is how a large proportion of juvenile fish have dark coloration when viewed from above and lighter coloration when viewed from below. Darker substrates also hide shadows formed by your fish. Erratic behavior and wild dashing can be indicative of an environmental factor that the fish is disliking. EG of this a fish dating and leaping while in a salt dip. Perhaps you could cover all sides of the aquarium except for the front panel to prevent him hitting the sides. Good luck. When I started working in the aquarium trade I saw a large silver arrow bust through a 6mm cover glass due to a young child banging on the glass.

1mx0.9mx0.7m Cheers for the feedback.

Nice. Thanks #1 Sumatran #2 Borneo Any ideas if they will form up with each other or should I seek out more of each variation?

Nope, definitely a variation in the species. Fish all have deep coloration. Ill get onto getting some evidence. Check back in an hour.

I have purchased some Clown loaches recently. There is clearly a difference between the fish. 1-Deeper color, red ventral and caudal fins and smooth skin near the tail. 2-The other have lighter coloration around the eye, yellow to white ventral and caudal fins and a raised striation near the tail. They spend time as different groups favoring their own kind. #1 tentatively feeds and is skinny. #2 feed aggressively and shows all signs of good health. I have heard that there are some variations from different tributaries. My question is will the one that has none of his own kind around struggle to adapt as a single fish, or will they form a collective. Thanks in advance for your responses. I had a peruse of the search function of previous post and have found nothing that will satisfy my query.

Yeah he is an awesome specimen. Borrowed from a friend (cheers again) to improve the genetic diversity. Its a good example of what was talked about in another post regarding the effect of having a single specimen in an aquarium with little or no competition of similar species. Bigger, stronger, brighter.

O. Lithobates boy girl and C. Azureus

Thats an awesome read Simon. A fair bit of time spent in the warm room while viewing the fish allows us to come up with theories of WHY. One of the things I have noticed is how you can change the demeanor and self image of a fish. 3 males and 7females in a tank. There is as constant battle between the 3 males. Remove the 2 top tier males and leave the 3rd tier male in the tanks for 3 months. His color and breeding fervor increase dramatically. Place all fish in a new aquarium and the then 3rd tier male is now the super duper dominant. I guess his time as alpha has bolstered his courage and self image to the point that he now takes on all comers. So far we have replicated the effect in 3 different species. Its a great way to improve the coloring of individual fish. Our new "social experiment" is rearing juvenile fish in an aquarium with adult fish. Hoping that it will work like a dog pack. Im hoping that they will learn there place in the social order of things.

Its a pleasure dude. Sometimes all we need is an action plan to deal with aquarium issues. I look forward to seeing updates in the future. Cheers Greg

Nice, I think the final touch should be a little carved polystyrene kayaker to play in the weir. The cartwheels that he/she would do would be awesome. Thanks again for the pothos plants. Roots are starting to increase and a new leave has opened up. I loved the idea so much that I have re-purposed an indoor house plant of a similar variety. The leaves are little more heart shaped but the structure of the plant is the same. The photo shows how I have criss-crossed the runners back and forth across the area below the clear roof sheets. So far so good, there are new roots forming on the existing roots even though the plants reputedly don't like wet feet. Thanks again

Building on the discus aquarium didn't take long. We now have an aquarium in the lounge. It sits below the TV and makes for an excellent distraction pretty much all the time. Its a bare bottomed tank with Cardinals, Discus and Rams. The area is broken up with branches making an impressive play ground for the discus.

Oy Vey

I see today on stuff that GNS is saying there is a high chance of another large shock. So we thought it a good time to share what we have done to try and make sure our fish and tanks are as safe and secure as possible. First up we have checked the bracing of the tanks and the units and added a bit more cross bracing to a couple.( Large tall tanks have been attached to stands with ratchets. The ratchets run over the bracing panels.) We have also checked the flooring structures under the tanks. Secondly, we inspected the hard scape in all the tanks to make sure all the large rock work is stable, where we think there is a chance it could move, we have adjusted to make it more secure. If any fall in a quake we don’t want them to smash a panel of glass! Thirdly we have checked all of the lids and lowered the water level a bit – we found the movement in the quake was enough to push the glass lids off, fortunately none broke but we would prefer they didn’t come off in the first place! Fourth, we have put RCDs on all electrical points – this is to make sure we don’t blow anything up. Fifth, we have moved any heavy objects from above tanks (yes we should have done this a while ago!) and just stored light stuff. Finally I have bought a paint-mixing attachment for a drill. I have ensured that the drill batteries are charged. In th event of power going off this is an easy way to ensure oxygenation. If you have any other ideas that might help people prepare better for anther quake – please feel free to share!

Fantatsic news David. I am glad the Poret is working out so well for you. Its good to know the internal structure is holding out against that massive amount of water passing through it. I am stoked that you are realistic amount the water clarity. Gin clear water is hard to achieve with such messy fish without it being a labour intensive affair. The high density 30ppi will only be able to take out a specific size of particulate. If you are wanting the gin clear water you would have to be using a water polisher of some sort.(filter wool, purigen, filter socks.) I would be dead keen on trying out your aquaponics species. I was growing a multitude of herbs and veggies in our hatchery but due to costing of grow lights I canned the project. I have since installed clear roofing. Cheers

Wicked fish

All great advice. Its good to know that in a cynical world people are quick to step up and help each other. Most important is a water test as mentioned. Always test your water if you notice any issues. Discus are highly susceptible to changes in water quality. They do come from the largest freshwater river in the world. They are essentially in a constant water change system of massive proportions. The use of Epsom salts as a feed additive is only effective in the initial phase of infection. This is usually after a stressors (poor water quality, bullying, environmental change) has weakened the fishes immunity and allowed the ever present bugs( Eg Spironoculeus) to take hold. The Epsom salts draws water into the gut and essentially flushes out the bugs. Kinda like a coffee colonic. The white stringy faces is the inner lining of the intestine as the fishes body tries to rid itself of the bugs. I use the Epsom salts soaked food as a prophylactic when ever moving fish, noticing aggressive territorial behavior or anything else that can have a negative effect.(1 TBS Epsom Salts/500ml water) If the bugs are heavily infested and have had a chance to spread throughout the body it -(Epsom salts) will have no effect and the use of Metronidazole is required. I think this is the case. An increase of temperature can help the fishes natural immunity to fight back.(32-33C) Just remember the relationship between temperature and Oxygen levels. Always add more oxygen and consider tank mates temperature range. Good luck

How are your fish doing John?

Whoa, easy on tiger. Not accusing you of anything. Just a level of transparency. In the interest of learning what has and hasn't worked in this particular case. Fish disease and ailments are pretty tricky to diagnose and correct. Especially when people are remotely helping. By listing what remedies you have used and found effective can help people out in the future. Good luck though.

What have you done so far to help your fish?

I agree. Finrot can be either fungal or bacterial or excessive salt(5%+) solution in the tank water. You often find a multitude of bad guys(bacterium) attacking at the same time. A microscope and some fish slime would help you narrow down your target. A good read http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/columnaris_disease.php Good luck

Columnaris sometimes shows itself as cotton wool tufts on the face. Its one of the first infestations that occur after stressors have weakened the fish. Further diagnosis is needed of course. I would suggest lowering the temperature, to the lower end of the fishes scope of tolerance,which inhibits the bacterium. Dosing the tank with a salt solution of 1% 1g per liter for one week , that can be phased out with regular WC's. Couple this with a salt dip in a 3-5% solution. 3 times a day for 3 days. It won't kill off the bugs but will inhibit it. Allowing the immunity to kick in and prevent further spread to other fish. I have heard of mixed results with furan2 available at your LFS. I think it affects gram neg and positive.I'll check on that later today. Good luck

I used to have a balled up bit of tinfoil in an aquarium with Elephant nose species. They would muck around with it for ages. Moving it around.That said they emit electronic pulses to ID food. The tinfoil could have been driving them crazy.

Good luck dude.